Canterbury School unveils plans for $7M girls' dorm

Published 1:00 am, Tuesday, February 28, 2006

NEW MILFORD - Canterbury School intends to build a $7 million girls' dormitory with three faculty apartments on the site of its former hockey rink.

In addition, the coed private school is designing a new, larger pool it hopes will be open for the 2007-08 winter swim season.
Canterbury has 360 students, some of whom live on campus and some of whom commute. Officials hope the proposed projects will enrich campus life and attract a more diverse student body to its 150-acre campus.
"It's a big step forward,'' said Director of Finance and Development Bryan Kiefer.
Canterbury's dormitory plans are on tonight's
Zoning Commission
agenda, with a public hearing scheduled April 11.
The pool plans are of interest not only to the Canterbury community, but to New Milford at large. The pool has long played host to the town Park and Recreation Department's swim programs and other community activities.
New Milford High School
's swim teams also uses the pool for some practices and meets.
"We're extremely pleased and excited to be in a position to build a new pool,'' said Kiefer, who added ground will be broken for the pool in March 2007. "This is a really thrilling project for Canterbury.
In the past 20 months, Canterbury's capital campaign has raised $20 million. "It's a tremendous endorsement of our school and the academic program that we have at Canterbury,'' said Kiefer.
Canterbury hopes to break ground on a two-story dorm this summer. Officials said the building will provide more suitable accommodations for girls, helping the school reach its goal of having a student body split equally between males and females.
The building will also have three spacious apartments for faculty members. The school believes better faculty housing will entice more teachers to want to live in a dormitory setting.
For now, the school has 220 students housed in seven dorms that range from a girls' dorm with six students to a boys' dorm with 50 students, Kiefer said.
"Obviously, housing our students is a top priority, and we want to house them in the best possible accommodations,'' Kiefer said, noting the families' of female students tend to be more selective about the living accommodations.
The new, 8,000-square-foot dormitory will have a combination of double and single rooms. It will include a study space, a playroom, a common room and kitchen and dining areas.
Ten parking spaces are included in the dormitory plans.
Architecturally, the handicapped-accessible dormitory will be built in a English stone chateau style that will blend with the campus landscape, Kiefer said.
In an interesting twist, Kiefer said the Manhattan architectural firm that Canterbury has used for the last 20 years has ties to the school's original architect
Rafael Hume
. Hume's brother, Nelson, was the school's first headmaster.
"We have a history legacy that we carry on,'' Kiefer said.